With first day sales topping $170 million and first week sales of over $300 million, it appears that Halo 3 was a great idea for both Bungie and Microsoft. My only question is why did it sell so many copies?

As far as I can tell, there are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason would be the logical reason that it is the third installment of a very popular series that has developed a significant following. These people would be anxious to find out how the story ends and want to play the game as soon as possible.

The second reason that I can think of would be because of the hype that the game has received. Much in the same way that movies are often promoted, this game has been promoted not only by the makers, but also through deals with Burger King, Pepsi, and Pontiac. This has led to people who may otherwise be uninterested becoming interested in it.

So with these two theories in mind, the question remains. Why has Halo 3 sold so many copies? Is it marketing and hype or the quality of the product or some combination?